Both men represent systems of doing things that are rooted in fundamental violence and oppression.By George Thicket & Thorp has got it! ‘Neither the sickle nor the swastika’ (to quote this blogger’s husband more than 15 years ago) nor a moral-majoritarian, fear-mongering (‘blame the gays’) theocrat (Baldwin, who happens to be Protestant, the kind of fascist Sinclair Lewis predicted for America and some of McCain’s and Palin’s fans want) nor ‘Republican lite’ (Barr).
The Protestant right used to be for peace, in World War I for example (and true of the Southern Baptist Convention as recently as 1936), but changed; the Protestant left are dead the same.
Obama, to begin with, is not and has never been the “peace candidate,” even excepting his undiminished support for abortion-on-demand. While his early rhetoric sounded anti-war and even slightly radical, he has long since obediently and probably willingly shifted into the usual centre-right position, an advocate of American exceptionalism — one supported only part of the time, in certain places, by bombs and bullets, you understand. Mr. Obama would have us leave off one war — that in Iraq (though not too quickly!) — in order to escalate another, in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That even more civilians are being slaughtered by American “smart” bombs in the latter places seems to be of little importance; it is the good war, after all, and that no one disputes. Besides those stated objectives, Mr. Obama would have us continue to proselytize the world for democracy etc. etc., and in those promises the threat of force is never far... wraps his imperialism in lofty rhetoric and sometimes anti-war sounding evasions.Don’t forget O’s promises to Aipac and Israel. Some ‘change’ candidate.
State violence becomes virtually sacrosanct: the drug war, the war on terror, are all holy wars, the fight of noble Civilization against its dark, murderous enemies.
One of the great perversions of modern life: the “right” to destroy is not only important, but essential, the underpinning of the all-holy human (well, the right sort of human that is) ability to control all things, from unwanted children to unwanted nations.